


Ne Me Quitte Pas

by Rsjessen



Category: Avengers (Comics), Captain America, Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (2012), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Comics), Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, F/M, Female Loki, Genderbending, Genderswap, Historical, M/M, Romance, Romantic Friendship, Soldiers, War, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-04
Updated: 2016-02-24
Packaged: 2017-12-07 11:57:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/748258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rsjessen/pseuds/Rsjessen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In mythology, Loki often ventured to earth, disguised as a woman, staying there for a while to live with the humans. After a fight with his father, Loki leaves Asgard, and goes to earth, hiding himself from his father and Heimdall all-seeing sights.<br/>Here he meet Steve Rogers, before the war, and the two of them end up as rather unlikely friends. (STEVE/LOKI SLASH)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has been in my mind for over a year now. I first got the idea with write it as a WW2 novel, but then, after watching Captain America for the first time – I know, I was faar behind on that one, but honestly I had no idea it existed, as CA isn’t very big in Denmark, and the movie was rather a failure. Anyway, after watching the movie, I decided to change my now OC characters into Marvel characters instead, and then I sort of created this entire story in my head, without ever writing it down before now.  
> Enjoy.  
> P.S IMPORTANT: right now it may seem like Steve/OC or even Steve/Bucky, it is not. This story will be Steve/Loki. Mainly.

He was nervous. Not anything new about that, he was often nervous, though he tried not to ever let it show. But being nervous for a date was perfectly normal, Bucky had often told him so, so at this point Steve had simply given up on hiding his nerves, and instead paced the room. The tie was loose around his neck, he had been unable to tie it properly, and had now given up, hoping that Bucky had more steady hands when he arrived to pick him up.

He had never met the girl before – which was quite common for his dates, it wasn’t very often a girl agreed to go out him after they met, and if she did, it was simply because she pitied him or because she found that he was just so darn adorable, the latter actually being the most annoying to him. 

She was a girlfriend of Kimberley, the girl Bucky was currently dating, – again, very common – and he had been told, by Kim – she insisted to be called that – that Johanna was very pretty, blonde, and preferred music over paintings and fish over steak. 

The fact that she didn’t enjoy paintings he couldn’t understand, but he was in no position to be picky, and surely if he fell in love with her, it wouldn’t matter anyway. As long as she was kind, he couldn't really complain. 

When the doorbell rang, Steve gave a fright. He had been startled out of his thoughts, and had to compose himself for a moment before rushing to open the door, revealing Bucky who was currently sporting a nice button-up plaid shirt, a pair for nicely ironed black pants and a smug grin. There was plenty of time until their dates had to be picked up, and Steve sorely needed it, which Bucky, of course, knew.

“You ready, champ?” he said, slamming his hand down on Steve’s smaller shoulder, nearly topping the other one into the ground with his weight. 

“You know I’m not,” frustrated, Steve ran a hand through his hair, well aware that he was messing it up, pulling it out of place when he finally, only moments ago, had decided he was finished with it, and that it wasn’t getting any better. 

Instead of answering straight away, Bucky simply stepped into the apartment behind Steve, with a confidence in his step that Steve could never master, no matter how hard to he tried. He shot a quick look around the room, taking in the mess of clothes Steve had tried on, and different art sketches that were a permanent feature in Steve’s living space. 

“Come here then,” he gestured for Steve to follow him. The smaller one obliged, quickly moving to stand in front of his friend. 

“I’m not sure I want to go after all.”

Bucky huffed out a small laugh, adept hands reaching up to tie the tie around Steve’s neck. He stepped back as he finished, watching his work, as Steve fidgeted with the offending thing around his neck and glanced nervously around the room. Was it getting hotter in here?

“Stop being stupid,” Bucky emphasized this by poking Steve on the forehead, “you are going, and you are going to have a good time and that’s final.”

There was a moment of silence, before they both started laughing.

“You sound like a mom,” Steve wheezed out between laughs, clutching his sides as his laughter reduced to chuckles instead. Bucky responded by punching him on the shoulder.

“Yeah well, one of us has to be sensible, and this clearly not you, judging by the way you’ve been manhandling your hair.” 

Bucky ruffled said hair, and began untying the tie around Steve’s neck, mumbling that it looked better without it, and no girl wanted an uptight man anyways, so Steve had to try and look casual but proper at the same time. Tossing the tie onto a nearby chair, Bucky once again grasped Steve by the shoulder, bending over to look his friend straight into the eyes. 

“But seriously Steve, if you don’t want to go, you don’t have to,” he said in a serious tone, “I’ll tell them you got ill or something, they’ll never know.”

Steve looked back at his best friend for a moment, debating in his head, whether he truly wanted to go or not. In the end he shrugged off the hand resting on him, walked towards the door and grabbed his too-large jacket. He paused; hand on the door handle, throwing a cheeky grin over his shoulder to a silent Bucky, who was watching him with a smile. 

“You coming or what?”

Bucky hurried, for which Steve was glad. He didn’t want too much time to dwell, in fear that he would change his mind. But, he was going now, and hopefully, he would not regret this decision.


	2. Chapter two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not American, so I don’t know much about the city Steve lives in. But I google’ed it, and read that it did have a harbor. Please tell me if I’m way off.

To say that the date went bad was an understatement. The moment she was Steve, Johanna had pulled Kim aside, whispering rather aggressively into her ear, going so far as to even point at him. In the end she let out a rather frustrated sigh, and apparently decides to give in and let herself be dragged over to a mildly disappointed Steve, and a massively annoyed Bucky – who had promised himself to never accept the horrible treatment that his best friend received from other people. 

Bucky had let himself be kissed on the cheek by Kim, and quickly laced his arm with hers, not even trying to hide his disgust with Johanna, who in return didn’t bother to try and hide her disgust with Steve as her date, keeping an large distance between them, as they walked towards the promenade, where they would be spending the evening.

As it turned out, Steve probably wouldn’t have enjoyed his date with her even if she had been more accepting of him. The girls was rather tedious, and spend most of the evening talking about herself, not bothering to include him in the conversation after the initial question he had asked her. (“What do you like to do for fun” admittedly not the most thought-provoking question, but she didn’t seem to have minded.)

He bought her a ice cream cone, because even if he didn’t enjoy spending time with her very much, she was still his date and should be treated as such, and offered to walk her home when she told him that she had to get up early in the morning, so she would have to cut the date short. That way Bucky could continue his date with Kim, and Steve got to go home instead, perhaps he could work on his drawings before going to bed.

Surprisingly she accepted, having probably come to the same conclusion as Steve and not wanted to break up her friend and Bucky’s date, so Steve ended up walking her home. 

The walk there was short - thankfully, Steve thought to himself – and quiet. Not even Johanna had anything to say, before she stood in front of the door to her parent’s home, facing Steve and shifting rather awkwardly on her feet. 

“I actually enjoyed myself tonight,” she finally said, hands pulling at her skirt, which had probably ridden up during the walk, “you are a great listener, Steven.” 

He answered her with a small smile, because he supposed that he was a good listener, and it was nice of her to comment on it. He held out his hand for her to shake, which she did, sending him a smile in return.

“Thank you for tonight, Johanna.”

He pulled back, leaving her with a small wave, and walked down the street, deciding to try and get home, before it got too late and the more unpleasant people came out on the streets. As it was the quickest way, he went towards the peer, cutting through the dark alleys by it, ending up walking by the edge of the harbor. 

At this point in the evening, the place was deserted. 

Deciding he had the time, Steve stopped for a moment, to enjoy the silence around him. The entire place was empty, and it felt odd but peaceful to be there at a time like this, when the place was normally bursting at the seams with people during the day. 

In need of a little peace, Steve sat down on the edge of the dock and looked out into the water. He could hardly see a thing in front of time, the entire ocean almost pitch black by now. It was only the lights from the city behind him, reflected in the water, that separated it from the sky, so onlookers could see which was which. The sounds of the calm waves, made Steve want to just lie back and close his eyes. He didn’t, of course, as this was hardly the place to simply lie around, so instead he continued to stare out in front of him a bit more.

“Oddly beautiful isn’t it?”

Steve was startled out of his thoughts by a voice next to him, he turned to see a girl sitting by his side. She was dressed in a mint green summer dress, which must have been rather cold Steve thought, though she didn't seem to mind at all. Her black hair was almost hidden in the darkness around them, if not for the way her creamy white skin almost reflected the city-lights and made her luminous.

Steve hadn’t found his voice before she continued to speak, not bothering to let him answer her question. 

“I come here every night around this time. It’s always so quiet before the bars open, and people are still at home. I enjoy it here.”

Now able the trust himself to speak a little now, Steve answered;

“That was my thoughts as well, although this is my first time here,” a larger wave splashed up against the port, and Steve could tell that the water drops from it were high enough to hit him on the shoe. 

Steve could see her white teeth in the darkness, as she flashed him a grin and held out her hand towards him, “I’m Lori,” she said as he took her hand a shook it, “pleased to meet you..” she trailed off, fishing for a name.

“Steve.”

“Steve, such an American name,” she answered, still grinning. 

It was only now Steve realized she spoke with a British accent. He wondered for a second why she would be in America, but decided that it was too personal a question for him to ask. Besides, many Brits fled America when the war broke out. Perhaps she was a Jew who ran, when the war neared her boarders. Many believed that the US was the safest haven for people to be in right now. 

“You know,” once again her voice pulled him from his thoughts, “I’ve got to go now, but as I said, I’m here every day.”

The question was left unsaid, but not unheard. Steve quickly realized what she meant, and felt that he would enjoy speaking with her again, so he quickly promised he would be there again to tomorrow evening.

“Great,” she stood up, and Steve noted that she was much taller than him, perhaps even as tall as Bucky. Certainly tall for a woman, “I’ll see you then, Steve.”

She gave him a small wave, before turning and walking into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t believe I wrote “into the night”. Please forgive me for that sentence.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki’s living accommodations is inspired by how the author of the book “A Woman in Berlin”, describes her own living space in the book. I can also recommend the book to all interested in a bit of German history. It’s a diary written during the time straight after WW2, set in Berlin. The author’s name was never published (it was her diary) and the book was only allowed out now after she died a couple of years ago, as there was much protest about the book after the first time she tried publishing it. Also. It’ll break your heart.

It became a tradition. Every evening at the same time, Steve would grab his jacket and go to the harbor. Lori would be waiting for him, sitting at the edge in the exact same spot as she always had. It was always dark, but Steve could quickly recognize her tall and lean shape, even the first night.

Sometimes, they sat in silence, other times Steve spoke and Lori listened. He would talk about Bucky, who had now joined the military and was currently preparing for leaving to go to his training camp in a few weeks, about his family – or lack of thereof - , his art, the movies he saw, the war. Everything that filled Steve's days, also filled the silence between them as they sat there, staring into the darkness.

Once in a while Lori would make a comment, sometimes it was snarky, making Steve laugh, sometimes it even made him blush if she was feeling particularly brash, but mostly, she made observations and gave him advice. Steve quickly found that Lori was fiercely intelligent and took note of almost every word out of his mouth.

They quickly, but steadily, settled into a comfortable companionship. One might even say they were friends. Steve felt that he could confide in Lori, perhaps it was easier for him to do so, as he never had to look at her face, but simply the darkness instead, who in turn listened but never judged. However, she never spoke much of herself. After the first couple of weeks, Steve felt as if Lori knew all there was to know about him, yet all he knew about her was that she had just moved to America from somewhere in Scandinavia, to study she said, and now lived here with a landlady who was very strict about letting Lori go out alone, (she explained that she snuck out the window every night to go down here, and Steve was rather impressed), as she believed that the European women were more free spirited and needed supervision. Sometimes Steve couldn't help but wonder if she was right.

He was almost certain that none of the girls he and Bucky knew, would sneak out on their own, to go to the docks at night. It would be considered far too dangerous for them. Yet, Steve never felt worried for Lori, even though he knew she often stayed much longer after he would excuse himself to go home. For some reason it felt as if nothing evil in the world could harm this girl.

She was very different. Like no other girl Steve had ever met. She would occasionally joke or taunt Steve with a sly smile, that gleamed in the dark do brightly, that it didn't really matter to him if her comments hurt a little bit. But even as she joked with him, listened to him and helped him with his issues, there was a distance between them. She seemed off, away, foreign to him. He often wondered if it was simply how the Scandinavians acted, or if it was just how Lori acted.

Yet, he still enjoyed his nights with her, and their companionship became something he treasured very high. Which was probably why, when Bucky one day decided to stop teasing Steve about the girl he had been meeting up with, and instead began demanding to meet this girl, who was taking so much of his best friend's time away from him, Steve felt hesitant to do so.

It felt wrong, Steve decided, for Bucky and Lori to meet. He didn't want to share her with Bucky. Lori was his friend, and what they had together was special and in some ways he felt as if it belonged on the docks, not somewhere else, where Bucky would be as well. But Steve also knew that he couldn't deny either of his friends the wish to meet – although Lori had never expressed any interest in meeting Bucky at all – so he decided it was for the better. Bucky was his best friend, and best friend's didn't keep each other out of each others' lives like that.

So the next evening, when their meeting was coming to an end, and Steve had spoken for so long about a book he had read, that he throat felt soar and his voice was raw, Steve asked her.

"Perhaps tomorrow, we can meet somewhere else?"

He couldn't see the surprise on Lori's face, but he knew it was there, even without having to hear it clouding her voice as it did.

"Why?"

He was quiet for a while, contemplating in his head, how best to approach this. In the end, he settled for simply saying things as they were, rather than beating around the bush.

"My friend, Bucky, he wants to meet you, so he suggested that we could go to the fair together tomorrow eve. It's a Saturday so there'll be plenty for people there, and it will be open late so you won't have to bring your landlady. Just sneak out as you usually do."

Steve didn't actually like the fact that Lori snuck out. But without her doing so, he would never get to be with her, so in the end he settled for simply accepting the fact and moving on.

She was thinking. He could imagine that he could hear the wheels turning in her head. He knew her well enough her now, to know that she was trying to get an objective look at the situation, and make a sensible choice that would benefit her the most. He almost wished that she would decline and request meeting here again tomorrow, just the two of them.

As it never seemed to be, luck wasn't on his side.

"I'll meet you here at the usual time tomorrow, we can walk there together."

It was a dismissal for tonight, Steve knew that much. He had become quite good at picking up on when Lori wanted him to leave and let her sit in peace instead. He didn't mind too much. Sure, it felt odd leaving her behind, but he knew it wasn't because she didn't want to spend him with him, she simply also needed to spend time alone. And so he left, with a wave and a slight knot in his stomach when he thought about tomorrow.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve wasn't sure he ever wanted to go to the part of Europe that Lori was from.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm current in the process of moving to Australia from Denmark, which is stressing as hell so I don't have much time for writing. Which is why this hasn't even been proof-read by me. Please excuse that as best you can.

Bucky wasn't sure what he thought about Lori. Sure, he liked her well enough. She was an beautiful lady and she seemed to be good for Steve, and that was all he could really ask for, but she was also very strange. There was something off about her, something that Bucky couldn't exactly put his finger on, but he was sure it had to do with the slightly haughty look on the young woman's face.

She was tall, extremely tall actually, which even Bucky had to admit made Steve look absolutely ridicules next to her, as he was short next to most women as it was already.

She was also slender with long, slick, inky black hair, that she had, perhaps in the occasion of the evening, twisted into a French braid that hung over one of her pale shoulders. When Steve had complimented her on it as they picked her up at the harbor, she had laughed and told them that her landlady had been trying to teach her a few hair tricks, and this was so far the only one she had been able to pick up.

She was very pretty, in an exotic sort of way – but then again, Steve had mentioned she was European – and she carried herself with an air of superiority and ice cold calm that Bucky found himself slightly threatened by but Steve hardly seemed to notice at all.

As it was, she didn't pay much attention to Bucky, aside from the initial greeting and answering the few questions Bucky had saved up for his best friend's newest, and only other, friend, Lori spent most of the night glued to Steve's side, a barely-there smile on her lips whenever he spoke to her or looked at her as if he couldn't quite believe she was real.

Which Bucky could understand why he would. There was something very unreal about her. Bucky wasn't even sure she wasn't just one of Steve's drawing that somehow came to life, to be honest. He just had yet to decide if this was a good thing or a bad.

Steve was a perfect gentleman all night. He always did his best to be so, as it was one of his strengths. He once told Bucky, that he felt it could somewhat make up for other things that he was lacking in. But tonight was different, because Lori didn't seem to notice that Steve didn't match up most men physically, and this made her so much better than any person Steve had ever met before, because other than Bucky, Steve had never tried not being judged before.

Perhaps it was because Lori actually understood where Steve was coming from. She was extremely tall for both a woman, but also next to most men, something that Steve told Bucky that he hadn't actually noticed in the darkness by the water, but it was very hard to ignore now that he had to crane his head back to be able to speak with the girl by his side. She towered over most people around her, even Bucky, who wasn't really that tall for a male but he was taller than Steve and that was enough.

Lori probably got judged for her size just as much as Steve did.

In fact, he was certain she did. He could tell that much, from the looks she got as they all walked together, Steve and Lori walking close but not too close because while they were friends, he didn't have any claim over her, and this was her meeting Bucky and not a date. Men would glance at her, appreciating her cold but beautiful demeanor, but quickly turn their heads when their grins turned cruel and their fingers pointing, while they whispered to their friends about the scary tall chick walking with the imp. And Bucky couldn't imagine that it was Steve's mere presence that made them slander like that.

It didn't seem to matter much to Lori, though. She simply walked around fair, looking at the different stalls with a barely hidden curiosity as she studied the different things around her. Once in a while she wouldn't be able to keep in her thirst for having her curiosity satisfied and would point at something with the small smile on her lips and ask Steve what it was.

When she asked him what the ice cream vendor was, Steve mused – as he purchased her a vanilla ice cream because he couldn't let it be that she actually never had had any - that wherever in Europe Lori was from, must be a very different and depressing place, and it was a good thing that she'd arrived in America, so she could enjoy ice cream and cotton candy with him whenever possible. However, he tried not to dwell too much on the last part of the thought.

As it turned out, though it wasn't much of a surprise, Lori enjoyed ice cream, and quickly finished it before throwing the cone from her and telling Steve in a very calm voice that she wished for another.

"You're suppose to eat the cone, Lori, not throw it away, and especially not on the ground!" Steve exclaimed as he picked up the discarded cone to throw it in the trash, very pointedly ignoring the confused and slightly annoyed look that Bucky was sending him.

"But I had finished the iced cream."

Steve wasn't sure he ever wanted to go to the part of Europe that Lori was from.

"Yes, but the cone is edible as well," Steve sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair before sending Lori a small smile, "listen, I'll get you one more, perhaps chocolate this time? But then you have to eat the cone as well, I promise it's very good!"

Lori seemed to contemplate this for a moment, before her smile widened a bit – Steve wasn't sure it could actually be called a smile, perhaps more of a smirk, but he would take what he could get – and said: "Yes, another, that would be good," walking back to the ice cream seller with strides so large that Steve had to almost run, so his shorter legs could keep up with the black-haired female.

As it turned out, Lori did like the cone and the chocolate ice cream as well, and finished this one just as fast as she had the first, much to the amusement of her company. This time, as she finished, she didn't ask for one more, but instead turned to Steve, a proper smile gracing her lips for the first time this evening.

"I liked that very much Steve, but I must go home now, I shall see you tomorrow eve."

She turned to walk, but Steve quickly caught her arm before she left,

"Wait here, I'll walk you home, just let me say goodbye to Bucky," she let him go with a curt nod and he quickly walked towards his best friend, who had started speaking with a girl that Steve vaguely remembered as being one of Bucky's old flings.

"I'm going to walk Lori home," he said as soon as his friend had noticed him and turned from the conversation he was having.

"Good idea, I'll see you tomorrow?"

Steve nodded, hesitating a bit before asking:

"Say Bucky, what do you think of her?"

His friend turned quiet for a moment, clearly thinking it over in his head what he was going to say. Steve bit his lower lip in nervous anticipation.

"She.." Bucky was lulling the words over in his mind one last time before answering, "she's strange," he finally said, but continued on "a bit rude, but I don't know if that's just her culture, I think it might be."

He clasped a strong hand on Steve's thin shoulder, and like always Steve had to steady himself so he didn't crumple under the pressure,

"but I like her, because you like her, and I think she's good for you," Bucky finished with a smile before sending his smaller friend back to the girl waiting for him with calls of good luck and a whistle that made Steve blush and Lori look slightly confused.

He offered her his arm as they walked, and after looking at him for a moment with a blank stare, she accepted it and held on until they arrived at her home.

She told him goodbye and left him with yet another almost-not-there smile and a promise to meet him by the water the next day, as they always did.

He watched her climb up the fire escape with an ease that he couldn't help but marvel at, and he left wishing that he at least could posses the strength and height to give her a boost up to her window, so she wouldn't have to use the drainpipes and get herself dirty and scraped up.

He also knew that that was never going to happen, so he quickly put the thought of his mind again.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've returned from Australia, with a new chapter! Halfway through the fic by now, so it should be over in the next couple of weeks.  
> I hadn't imagined it would become this well liked, so thanks :)

The day Bucky left to go to his training camp; Steve didn't show up at the harbor. Nor did he show up the day after, or the following week.

In fact, Lori didn't see Steve for two weeks. Not until she decided to seek him out herself, finding his apartment rather quickly, yet unable to actually tell him how she found him. In the end, Steve assumed she'd spoken more with Bucky, outside their evening together, and had gotten the address from him.

The thought of his two friends spending time together without him, left Steve feeling cold and empty inside, his stomach turning into knots.

But, now Bucky was gone and Lori was standing in his door, her tall frame forcing her to tilt her head down, so she can gaze at him.

She didn't speak, instead she forcing her way inside, casting a linger glance at the apartment. It's clean, save for the few art-supplies and drawings he had left in the corner, which immediately catch her eyes.

"You've been painting, she states arching her swan-like neck towards the sketches. Steve almost expect her to barge over and riffle through them as others would, perhaps complain that drawing wasn't considered a male profession. But then he remembers that Lori isn't exactly like any other person he's ever met.

"Yes," he hesitated for a moment, testing the words in his mouth before continuing, "would you like to see them?"

"Not particularly."

She moved through the apartment into the kitchen, leaving a rather stunned Steve in her wake.

He could hear her rummaging through his stuff out there and quickly joined her, only to find her staring into a tin of ground-coffee like it was the most puzzling thing in the world.

"Need any help?"

Instead of answering, Lori set down the tin on the kitchen counter and turned towards him with a determined look on her face.

"You haven't been at the harbor for a while," once again she didn't ask, but instead stated. Although, that didn't stop Steve from asking her.

"No, I.." she didn't give him time to finish before she continued;

"Why?"

"I haven't been feeling well, I suppose," Steve paused for a moment, before coming to a decision, "Bucky's left to go training."

He had spoken to her of his wishes to join the army and fight for his country. She knew it pained him that Bucky could go but he couldn't, and while she had never expressed any wish to fight for her, or anyone else's, freedom, he felt as if there was some kind of understanding between them. Like she got how he felt, and had perhaps even felt something similar in her life.

As it was, she now regarded him with a blank stare that he knew meant that she was thinking things through. After a moment or two she seemed to come to a decision, and moved towards him with long and confident strides. As she stood before him she reached out a timid hand, placing it on his shoulder. Perhaps she meant it as a gesture of comfort, but the hand was heavy and she put too much pressure on it, making Steve's knees buckle beneath him. He forced himself to look up at her face, as his was leveled with her sparse bosom, and it wouldn't be proper for him to look forward.

"I will see you at the habor tomorrow, Steve," her bloodred painted lips stretched in an almost timid smile, as she leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on his forehead. Perhaps it was another attempt at comfort, but it didn't achieve anything else than making him flustered and stammering.

She pulled back, arching an eyebrow as she awaited his responds.

"Y-yes, tomorrow."

This seemed to satisfy her, as she quickly moved towards the door, only stopping at the threshold to turn to him and say;

"Till then, Steven."

The moment she had closed the door behind him, Steve moved towards the mirror in his tiny bathroom. Her red lips were branded onto his forehead, in an almost perfect print. As he looked at it he suddenly felt more at ease, and almost felt as if his luck had finally turned. Perhaps tomorrow would be a better day.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was still so unearthly beautiful and regal to look at, that at times Steve couldn’t quite believe she was even speaking to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you guys I'd return :b .. and it only took me two years!
> 
> Originally someone else had taken over the story, but it seems she never got around to actually writing anything, so I'm having a go at it again. 
> 
> I've also edited some things in the older chapters, not much, but it more of an continuity issue + some glaring spelling and grammar errors. Not that my English has gotten much better since.

After Lori’s visit, Steve started going to the harbor again. Every evening they would sit together in the cold Boston dark, talking about everything and nothing. Months passed like this, and slowly, even though it almost felt like the blink of an eye to Steve, Lori had maneuvered her way into almost every aspect of his life, as what seemed like a permanent fixture.

She was still so unearthly beautiful and regal to look at, that at times, Steve couldn’t quite believe she was even speaking to him. The thought of their daily meetup still heated his cheeks and made his heart stutter. 

But by now, he had gotten quite good at seeing beneath the cold that Lori presented to the world, and felt almost always felt very comfortable in her presence. She was still in the habit of making crude jokes and sending him hidden leers, that had him stumble over his words and made it hard to breath. But it had become somewhat of a thing between them now that she clearly enjoyed, to have her try and make him blush. 

Beneath her cold demeanor and almost-swagger, Steve could tell there was more. Something deeper that she hid. Something warm and almost kind. He saw it in the small smiles she would try to hide, when he spoke passionately about art or Bucky or anything really. Or how her sarcastic quips about him never really dwelled on any of the topics that she noticed were sensitive to him.  
One time on a very cold night, she wordlessly handed him the expensive the expensive looking green scarf she had worn, when she noticed his thin jacket. 

The act had seemed intimate, and although Steve’s pride had almost made him deny the offer, something in Lori’s eyes had told him not to. It was clear to him that this was not something Lori simply did for anybody. It meant something to her.  
So forgoing any latent qualms about wearing what was clearly a very feminine looking scarf, and to be honest, it wasn’t as if a scarfs was going to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, when it came to Steve’s masculinity, Steve had wrapped the scarf tightly around himself, enjoying both the warmth that it gave him and how the smell of Lori had lingered in it, surrounding him.

The eve before Bucky was to return from his training, the night was colder than most, and Steve was once again wearing Lori’s scarf, as had become their costume by now, whenever it got this cold.  
Lori sat in silence beside him, clearly in deep thought, while Steve was contempt to simply switch between watching her and the ocean, silently sticking his nose into the fabric around him neck, inhaling the smell that was so uniquely his silent companion’s. 

 

In the end, Lori broke the silence, and for the first time since they met, Steve could tell that the woman was nervous. 

“You should enroll again, Steve.” 

Even though her voice was strong as always, smooth like the finest silk caressing Steves ears every time she spoke, it seemed quitter than usual, almost like she didn’t want him to hear her. 

“You now they won’t ever accept me,” Steve replied, somewhat dejected. He’d been through the ropes plenty of time, under several different names and documents, which Lori – unlike Bucky- knew, but never made it past the physical. 

“This time they will,” she rested her hand atop of his, and for a moment his breath caught in the chest and he suddenly felt as if he could do everything;  
“I can feel it, Steve.”  
The prospect of yet another rejection wasn’t exactly enticing to Steve.  
It had been a while since he last tried out for the military but he was certain that in that time, nothing had changed. But if Lori felt that he could do it, he would at the very least try, for her. 

“Bucky will be back tomorrow, he can’t know.”

She turned to him with a sly smile on her lips; “I won’t tell if you won’t tell,” and she suddenly seemed much more dangerous than before. Not that he could ever feel threatened by Lori, he realized. He knew that he could trust her with his life, if push came to shove. Although he wasn’t sure if many would agree that it was wise to place his trust there. 

“It a deal then”, Steve smiled and turned his hand around, lacing his fingers with Lori’s. Her manicured nails poked at his skin for a while, as she quickly turned her gaze back towards the water, and instead started caressing his hand instead. 

It was too dark to really tell, but Steve was certain he saw a slight blush that matched his own, on Lori’s pale cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've changed the number of expected chapters, as I'm leaving the chance of it continuing for longer than planned, open.

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr:  
> www.bevares.tumblr.com  
> for drabbles I don't upload here, my fanart and much more


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